A really nice-looking model kit this is. ^^ Without venturing into its articulation issue mentioned in the previous posting, HoiHoi-san looks really good for display. It's not a very big model kit, despite the seemingly crazy scale, so it won't take up too much space on your shelves, but due to her large skirt, the model kit does have a significant volume to it to be immediately noticeable, if the unusual image of seeing a little girl standing among robot figures don't immediately draw the viewers' attention to her already. XD

Looking at the completed model, there are a few details on it that I'm really happy I decided to add in when I was working on this kit back in November 2009:

(1) Cut and painted the lips - While there's a tiny groove molded on the mouth area, HoiHoi-san's emotionless face part makes it really difficult to see. I'm certainly glad that thin cut with red paint applied to it helps to highlight the lips, as well as HoiHoi-san's lack of emotion. XD

(2) Underskirt lace pattern - Even though striving for the character's accurate look was the main motivation behind the "paperwork", and I actually intended for the entire part to be concealed beneath the skirt to be faithful to the illustration inside the instruction manual, small segments of the lace pattern that extend beyond the edge of the skirt (due to sloppy final arrangement of the pattern beneath the skirt ^^;) look pretty good as additional details on the skirt itself. ^^ Furthermore, the lace pattern can indeed be sen very clearly from lower angles. ^^ With the detailing proven to be successful, the Heavy Combat and Heavy Combat Nightmare variations in my collection can certainly benefit from it as well, and I'll make sure to arrange the lace pattern to be more visible on them next time. ^^

(3) Gaia Metallic Color No. 9 Bright Silver on Izayoi (十六夜) - the shininess of the paint, and the sharp edge of the sword make HoiHoi-san's katana quite a marvelous part to look at. Of all the sharp tips on various parts of the model kit, the sharp edge of Izayoi is one which I have no complain about. ^^ As someone who loves shiny bling-bling details on his collectibles, I really feel that the great paint outcome of the sword makes it stand out more than the main model itself. ^^

As with all other model kits, the original intention of applying all the extra details on HoiHoi-san in the first place was really to enjoy the process. ^^ Despite facing difficulties most of the time, taking up the challenges of realizing some of the missing colors and details on model kits is always fun to me. ^^ Very often, I need to imagine hard on the final look of the parts to convince myself to go through the troubles of detailing them. ^^; The great outcomes of the aforementioned details on HoiHoi-san really give me a lot of encouragement to perform similar paint work and detailing on other model kits in the future. ^^

Disregarding the articulation issues mentioned in the previous posting, it's all action with HoiHoi-san in the next posting. ^^